R1Governance
This chapter in shortWho runs EMPOWER-X, how decisions are made, and how organisations join and leave.
Highlight what applies to
R1.1Model and phases
Applies toEveryone
In shortEMPOWER-X is governed at two levels: rules shared with Gaia-X and federated data spaces, and its own bodies for everything specific to energy. The model evolves in three phases.
EMPOWER-X is governed at two levels: rules shared with Gaia-X and federated data spaces for cross-data-space interoperability, and EMPOWER-X's own bodies for everything specific to the energy data space.
Organisational form and its evolution
| Phase | Model | Governance Authority | Moves to the next phase when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Pilot (current) | Leadership: the coordinator governs, advised by participants | ZERTIFIER | At least 10 participants outside the founding consortium, and a funding plan for operations |
| 2. Growth | Shared: the Governance Board includes elected participant seats | ZERTIFIER with the Governance Board | Operating revenue covers at least half of running costs |
| 3. Sustainable operation | Neutral coordination body | An independent legal entity (association or foundation) | — |
The General Assembly decides each move between phases on a proposal of the Governance Board.
Governance Authority
The Governance Authority maintains this Rulebook, runs onboarding and offboarding, keeps the participant registry, decides on sanctions within its remit, mediates disputes and represents EMPOWER-X externally. It publishes its decisions to participants.
R1.2Bodies and decisions
Applies toEveryoneBodies & operator
In shortFour bodies, and simple decision rules published in advance.
Bodies
| Body | Members | Main responsibilities | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Assembly | All participants, one vote each | Ratifies the Rulebook and major changes, the fee schedule and phase changes | At least yearly |
| Governance Board | 5 members: the Governance Authority, 2 data-provider seats, 1 consumer or service-provider seat, 1 municipality seat | Operational decisions, admissions, suspensions, proposals to change the Rulebook | Quarterly |
| Technical Committee | Operator, node operators, technical leads of participants | Technical annex, data models, policies, conformance tests | Monthly |
| Legal and Ethics Advisory Group | Legal and data-protection representatives of participants | Regulatory watch, agreement templates, data-protection and ethics review | Twice a year and on request |
During phase 1, the Governance Authority fills Governance Board seats by invitation from among the use-case participants.
Decision making
- Ordinary decisions: simple majority of members present, with a quorum of half the members.
- Major decisions (Rulebook changes affecting rights or obligations, fees, expulsions): two-thirds of the Governance Board, then ratification by the General Assembly.
- The Governance Authority may block only decisions that would breach the law or the Gaia-X Trust Framework, and must explain why in writing.
- Decisions and minutes are published to participants within 15 days.
R1.3Roles
Applies toEveryone
In shortNine roles. One organisation can hold several, and each carries its own obligations.
Roles and responsibilities
One organisation may hold several roles; each role carries its own obligations.
| Role | Who (current) | Main obligations |
|---|---|---|
| Governance Authority | ZERTIFIER | See R1.1 |
| Data space operator | ZERTIFIER, operating the EMPOWER-X portal and node on the Zertipower multi-tenant platform | Runs the portal, catalogue, node and shared services; keeps production and test environments separate; reports real activity only |
| Technology provider | ZERTIFIER, building on the open-source Ocean Enterprise stack | Maintains components; applies secure defaults; discloses security issues |
| Data provider | Approved data providers, listed in the participant registry | Publishes accurate offers with an approved licence; holds the right to share; keeps personal-data processing lawful |
| Data consumer | Any participant | Uses data only within the offer's licence, policy and stated purpose |
| Service provider | Developers of algorithms and data services | Describes services accurately; respects compute-to-data limits |
| Compute provider | Operators of compute-to-data environments | Runs approved algorithms only; keeps network and data isolation as required by R5.3 |
| Trust anchor | Gaia-X trust anchors and Gaia-X Digital Clearing Houses | Verify identities and validate credentials |
| Federation partner | Data spaces with a federation agreement (R6.4) | Apply their own rules to their offers; honour the federation agreement |
R1.4Participation lifecycle
Applies toEveryone
In shortAny legal person meeting the published criteria may join, and may leave at any time. The how-to is under Join; this topic holds the rules.
StatusAs proposed for amendment: automatic admission. Pending adoption by the Governance Board.
Any legal person meeting the criteria below may join; admission is decided on these published criteria only.
Eligibility
- Legal person established in the EU/EEA, or admitted by Governance Board decision, with an identity verifiable in an official register.
- A valid Gaia-X participant credential (R5.1).
- Activity related to the scope in Foundations, contributing to an existing use case or proposing a new one.
- Ability to meet the technical requirements of R4 for the role requested.
- No expulsion from EMPOWER-X or another Gaia-X data space in the previous two years.
Onboarding
Joining takes four steps in the portal:
- Create an account. A representative of the applicant registers with a name and work email.
- Add the organisation. Legal name, registration number, address and the roles requested. The organisation presents Gaia-X participant credentials (legal participant, registration number, terms and conditions) validated by a Gaia-X Digital Clearing House, or obtains them with the portal's help, and registers its DID and wallet.
- Accept the Participation Agreement.
- Get started. When the identity, credential and eligibility checks pass, admission is automatic: the operator issues the EMPOWER-X membership credential and portal access opens.
If a check fails or needs judgement, the Governance Authority decides and gives written reasons. A refusal can be appealed to the Governance Board.
After joining, the operator helps providers publish a first offer that passes the publication checklist and helps consumers complete a first use. Thirty days after activation, the participant receives the onboarding survey (R6.6).
Ongoing obligations
- Keep credentials and offer descriptions current; report changes in legal, technical or organisational details within 30 days.
- Comply with this Rulebook and with the licence and policy of every offer used.
- Take part in audits, conformance tests and incident handling when asked.
Offboarding
- A participant may leave at any time with 30 days' written notice.
- On leaving, its offers are unpublished, its EMPOWER-X membership credential is revoked, and orders in progress are completed or cancelled as their terms provide.
- Data received under a licence that requires deletion on exit is deleted, and deletion is confirmed in writing within 30 days.
- Confidentiality, usage restrictions on data already received and liability for past acts survive offboarding.
- Departing participants receive the exit survey (R6.6).
R1.5Breaches and sanctions
Applies toEveryone
In shortThree levels of breach, each with a proportionate measure. You are always heard first, unless immediate suspension is needed to prevent harm.
Suspension and sanctions
| Breach | Measure | Decided by |
|---|---|---|
| Minor (late credential update, incomplete offer description) | Written notice with 30 days to remedy; affected offers hidden until fixed | Governance Authority |
| Serious (use outside licence or policy, false statements in credentials or offers, repeated minor breaches) | Suspension of publishing or ordering rights | Governance Authority, confirmed by the Governance Board within 10 days |
| Grave (unlawful processing, security attack, fraud) | Immediate suspension, then expulsion and credential revocation | Governance Board, two-thirds majority |
The participant is heard before any decision, except where immediate suspension is needed to prevent harm.
R1.6Changing the Rulebook
Applies toEveryoneBodies & operator
In shortAnyone can ask for a change. Minor changes are decided by the Governance Board. Major ones go to a 30-day consultation and then to the General Assembly.
Rulebook change management
- Any participant or body may submit a change request through the support channel.
- The Governance Board classifies it as minor (editorial, technical annex) or major (rights, obligations, fees, governance).
- Major changes go to a 30-day consultation of participants in the portal.
- The Governance Board decides minor changes; the General Assembly ratifies major ones.
- The Technical Committee updates the machine-readable artefacts in the same release.
- Each release gets a version number and a changelog. Changes apply 30 days after publication unless the law requires sooner.
- A participant who does not accept a major change may leave without penalty under R1.4.
Size-adapted governance
The Governance Board reviews every year whether the bodies, processes and support in this Rulebook still fit the number and type of participants, and proposes changes through R1.6.
R1.7Support
Applies toEveryone
In shortOne support channel, with published response times.
Support for participants
- Helpdesk: a single support channel, shown on Community; first response within 2 working days, within 4 working hours for incidents blocking production use.
- Documentation: guides for onboarding, publishing, ordering and compute-to-data, kept current with each platform release.
- Test environment: a separate test network where participants can try publishing and ordering without affecting production records.
- Onboarding sessions: group sessions for municipalities and energy communities at least twice a year.
- Rulebook help: every Rulebook page opens with a plain-language summary and says who it applies to.